


wild love

by actuallyshua



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dialogue Heavy, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Werewolves, but like only if you squint, this got a little angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-29 20:16:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20802350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/actuallyshua/pseuds/actuallyshua
Summary: Dating Joshua was easy. Jeonghan often compared it to a nap in the park on a summer day. Sunshine on his face, a nice breeze against his skin, blades of grass tickling the back of his neck.But, like any relationship, they had their ups and their downs.It just so happened that Joshua and Jeonghan's "down" was the fact that every three months, for two weeks, Joshua turned into a wolf.





	wild love

"Look at this! Look at this mess! I leave for thirty minutes, thirty, and this is what I come home to? Oh no," Jeonghan was quick to block off the nearest exit, "Turn around and look at what you did!" 

Soft brown fur covered the eyes Jeonghan was sure were downcast. A head that was hung low, refusing to look him in the eyes, and a tail between shaking legs. The torn up fabric that surrounded the large paws didn't mean all that much to Jeonghan. They were just pillows, he could buy more, but it was the principle of the matter. And the fact that this was very unlike Joshua. Blankets were strewn about their apartment, a lamp knocked over, the table askew in the middle of the room. It was more likely Jeonghan's fault than Joshua's. He'd been cooped up in the apartment for too long, his body far too large to find comfort in it anymore. He needed to get out. 

That was always easier said than done. 

Dating Joshua was easy. Jeonghan often compared it to a nap in the park on a summer day. Sunshine on his face, a nice breeze against his skin, blades of grass tickling the back of his neck. 

But, like any relationship, they had their ups and their downs. 

It just so happened that Joshua and Jeonghan's "down" was the fact that every three months, for two weeks, Joshua turned into a wolf. 

And not the kind Jeonghan used to see on the Discovery Channel. Out in the wild with their limber bodies and lanky legs. The swift moving, howling at the moon, traveling in packs kind. But the kind that took up too much space. The kind whose paws were as large as Jeonghan's head. The kind that knocked over all of his valuables with just one _swoosh_ of a tail. 

Jeonghan now stored all of his glass vases on a hard to reach shelf. 

He remembered hearing stories of the werewolves that lived amongst them when he was a child. They were vicious, blood thirsty, murderous hunters who lurked in the night. Creatures who took life without ever thinking about it, felt no regret or remorse. Jeonghan used to be afraid of them. Used to avoid the known ones at his schools like they had the plague. He would sometimes think about those children, the ones who were taunted and cast out. He thought of them most when he'd look at Joshua, when Joshua was really himself. 

With his wide smiles and terrible jokes. The way he'd hold Jeonghan like he was made of glass. How kissing him felt like Joshua was oxygen and Jeonghan was dying to breathe. 

It made his heart ache in the worst way. 

The only monstrous thing about Joshua was right now, and how stupidly adorable he still was even standing amongst the wreckage of boredom and too much energy. 

"Joshua, look at what you did." He returned to the moment, speaking sternly. 

The wolf let out a childish whine before rearing his head and turning to the living room. Jeonghan watched as Joshua nosed at one of the torn up pillows, moving it towards Jeonghan's feet. 

It was enough, he couldn't keep up the act anymore. 

Jeonghan reached out with both of his hands and touched under Joshua's long snout, his fingers getting lost in the caramel swirls of thick fur, "I know this is hard. I'm sorry I haven't been able to sneak you out at all. But please, next time your boredom gets the best of you, just chase your tail for a bit or something." 

He laughed as Joshua's eyes narrowed in full understanding before he exhaled loudly out of his nose, shaking his head. 

"I know, I know. It was a joke! I'll call Jihoon tonight and see if he can help us. You only have a few more days but a night out will be good for you. Here," He stood up, releasing his hands and stepping over the pillows, shaking the large paper bag he'd brought home, "I got you some dinner."

Adjusting to a life with a werewolf boyfriend wasn't something Jeonghan ever saw in his cards, but he prided himself on how seamless it was. Sure, he was shocked the first time he ever saw Joshua seven times his normal size and covered in fur. And watching him eat raw meat off the floor was a little unsettling. But it became easy. Easier for him to fall asleep without a human body next to him and instead on his side, one hand over the edge of the bed, always touching Joshua's back as he lay sleeping on the floor. Easier to understand Joshua's needs and wants when he could not speak for himself. Easier to love him, to change his mind about everyone like him. 

The two ate their respected meals in a comfortable silence, Jeonghan smiling as Joshua's tail was moving back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. 

He'd worry about cleaning the living room tomorrow. 

For now, a call. 

Jihoon was always quick to answer, a short "Hey" was all Jeonghan ever got. 

"What are you doing tonight?" 

"Probably nothing, why? You guys want to do something?" 

Tucking the phone between his ear and his shoulder, Jeonghan cleaned his dishes and shooed Joshua away from licking the floor any longer, "I need to get Joshua out for a little bit. He's going stir crazy in here. Can you help me?" 

"Oh shit, I forgot he's still in cycle. Why didn't you ask me sooner?"

Jihoon didn't say it to make Jeonghan feel guilty. But he still felt it nonetheless. 

"I've just been really busy. How is Mingyu?" 

A chuckle was heard, "On two feet. We'll come by around 1, does that work?" 

He'd need a cup of coffee. Maybe two. But he looked up and saw Joshua in the living room now, seated on his haunches and looking at the damage he'd done. Jeonghan could read him fairly well like this but he'd never really know what was going on in his mind. He probably felt shame, loneliness, every emotion that Jeonghan never wanted him to feel. 

"Yeah," He spoke confidently, "We'll be here." 

1 am came in the form of a soft knocking on their door. Jeonghan was sitting on the couch, third mug of coffee long gone, and Joshua's head in his lap. They weren't watching television or listening to music. Just Jeonghan's fingers carding through fur and Joshua's soft breathing. 

Jeonghan tapped his head gently and Joshua moved, allowing him to stand and greet their friends. Their friends who made life so simple, so valuable. Jeonghan had learned a lot from Jihoon and Mingyu. 

"Thank you for doing this." 

They were speaking quietly, preparing themselves for the task at hand. Jihoon just waved his hand in the air once as Mingyu made a bee-line for Joshua. 

"You don't have to thank me every single time, I told you that. I can uh," Jihoon looked around, the room still a mess, "See he got a little bored today?" 

Jeonghan nodded, scratching at the back of his neck, "I got a little peeved at him. But I know it's because he's been stuck in here the whole time. He seems happy to see Mingyu." He finished his statement with a head nod towards the two, a smile finding its way to his lips. 

He knew Joshua loved him just as he loved Joshua. They were soulmates, as he'd always be reminded. But there was something almost beautiful about the way two of a kind, a pair of aces, the same species, connected with each other. Mingyu had told Jeonghan time and time again that he and Joshua cannot read each other's minds. But he didn't buy it. The way Mingyu touched his forehead to Joshua's, how he always knew exactly what to say, and how Joshua would do the same when the roles were reversed, told him that there was something more magical than just transfiguration afoot. 

"Mingyu wouldn't shut up about this for the past few hours. You guys ready?" 

They were as ready as they'd ever be. It was something they'd done a thousand times over and yet it still made Jeonghan's heart race and his nerves tingle, like there were spiders crawling all over his body. He'd always lived in this world. Of creatures and _monsters _and those unlike himself. Everyone knew about the vampires who hid under their umbrellas and went to blood banks, the witches and their secretive nightclubs, the werewolves in the shadows. Humans had a lot to say about them. Mostly negative things. 

He knew that Joshua could freely walk the streets as he was now, he had that right. But he also knew they might not have the luxury of returning to their apartment in the same condition they left it in.

So, they hid. 

They moved quickly and quietly. 

Jeonghan gathered their things and gave Jihoon a nod, the other opening the door and taking one step out. He looked left, he looked right, he did this several times before returning and giving them a thumbs up. 

"Come on," He turned to the two behind him, "Let's go." 

If Jeonghan was able to watch this scene on a television show, he would probably laugh. Three men sulking through the hallway, close against the wall, lips sealed shut. A massive, trying his hardest to tip toe, wolf with a comically small blanket on his head behind them. But this was his reality. And it was painfully unfunny. 

They managed to make it out of the building, through the backdoor, and to Jihoon's van in almost record time. 

"Oh, come on. You didn't take all your shit out of it first?" Mingyu whisper yelled, Jihoon narrowing his eyes at the man. 

"I forgot! Just move it!" 

"You move it! It's your stuff!" 

"You're stronger than me." 

"You're s-"

"Guys," Jeonghan joined them in the hushed argument, one of his arms slung around Joshua, "Can we maybe hurry this up?" 

"Right." They spoke in unison, setting to work moving Jihoon's junk around to make space. 

It didn't take long before Joshua was able to hop up into the car, Jeonghan taking care to tuck his tail in before the door was closed and they all followed suit. The car ride was filled with Jihoon and Mingyu's usual back and forth, Jeonghan's eyes scanning around them and his hand on Joshua's head, thumb moving back and forth. 

Human Joshua never minded car rides. This Joshua hated them. The space was too small, he couldn't see anything with his head tucked down, and his smelling senses were warped from the closed windows and blankets around him.

But Jeonghan was here. He always would be. 

Thankfully, before too much time passed, the van came to a stop and Jihoon turned to face Jeonghan, "I think we're far enough out from the city now. We'll be good for a few hours out here." 

This park was one Jeonghan had come to know like the back of his hand. It was where he first saw Joshua, this version of him. 

When they first met, it was hard to tell. Joshua wasn't like most of them. He wasn't exceptionally tall like Mingyu or athletic and limber like Minghao. He was delicate and gentle. His laugh was like a fresh summer rain, his voice like honey. Jeonghan was drawn to him immediately, hardly able to go even an hour without speaking to him. 

It was when things started to get serious, when Joshua began spending less days at his own apartment and most of his clothing was in Jeonghan's closet, that he told him.

Over dinner, with nerves racking his voice and trembling hands. He was worried Jeonghan was like them, like everybody else. Jeonghan swallowed his shock and realized that while this did change things, how things would progress and how they would live their lives, it didn't change Joshua. He would always be the same. 

He knew that every time he looked into Joshua's eyes, just as he was now. 

With a well placed ruffle to the wolf's head, he smiled, "Go wild, love." 

The sun was beginning to rise through their curtains, Jeonghan quick to pull them shut. 

He was tired, body aching from sitting uncomfortably on the grass for far too long, but it was in no comparison to the exhaustion of his partner. On the floor, Joshua lay, breaths heavy and tongue lolling from the side of his mouth. He'd run himself ragged, darted back and forth with Mingyu until his limbs could barely carry him. Just as planned. With Jeonghan's luck, Joshua would sleep through the rest of this cycle. Wake up with hands to hold and lips to kiss. He was starting to get impatient this go around. 

With stiff muscles, Jeonghan laid himself into bed, on his left side, reaching his hand down. Joshua didn't move upon the contact and his breaths had slowed to a relaxing pace. 

Jeonghan sometimes imagined what their lives would be like if Joshua was like him. A human. Not because that's what he wanted, no, more like a fleeting thought. If he didn't have to keep a calendar to track his cycles. If he didn't have to get strange looks from the grocery store clerk when he checked out with pounds and pounds of raw meat. If he didn't have to yell at Joshua for tracking paw prints on their carpet. If he didn't have the soft fur to lean onto when he had a bad at work. 

Joshua would still be there to comfort him, care for him, love him. His life would be mostly the same. 

But it would be so boring. 

Joshua woke up on the floor. 

He kept his eyes closed but instead of stretching out on all fours, he wiggled his fingers and toes, smiling to himself. 

Sometimes, he was able to remember everything that happened. Each moment spent in a body that had taken him years to get used to. Other times, it came back in pieces. Now, he only saw flashes. He remembered seeing Mingyu, remembered sitting on the couch when Jeonghan wasn't home, remembered spending an hour trying to open the refrigerator with his snout only to give up and sleep on the kitchen floor. 

"Jeonghan?" He called out, voice gravely and weak. 

"Josh?" 

"The one and only." 

He heard the footsteps before he saw him but quickly, the weight of Jeonghan's body crushed him and he groaned. A frenzy of lips and "I missed you"s hit him like a freight train, the groaning turned to laughing. Joshua took advantage of his arms, wrapping them around Jeonghan, holding him tightly like he was the only thing keeping him to the ground. And maybe he was. 

He'd never know how Jeonghan did it. Dealt with all of this. 

"How was it?" 

Jeonghan didn't answer for a while, just kept his head tucked into Joshua's neck, his fingers tracing patterns along his chest. He didn't mind the silence. 

"Hard. It always is but I don't know. I missed you a lot this time," His face was lifted, Joshua able to bask in his beauty, "Plus, you destroyed the living room and I've been waiting for you to turn back so you could clean it." 

A quick kiss and the weight was gone. Joshua left with only the thoughts of what was waiting for him outside of their bedroom. He'd never _actually _destroyed anything in their apartment before. He'd accidentally taken out a few glasses, one or two vases, but never destruction. A pang of guilt nestled into his chest as he got up, wishing he could remember why he'd do that. Why he'd leave Jeonghan with such a burden when he already carried so many. 

"Oh god." He breathed out, looking at the mess in front of him.

"What'd I tell you? Destroyed! We have to go pillow shopping today." 

He wasn't mad. Why wasn't he mad? Joshua didn't bother to ask that question out loud, instead just set to cleaning while Jeonghan continued making breakfast. 

Joshua had heard about things like this. 

His mother used to prepare him, used to give him the warning signs, tell him what to look out for. 

"Hey, if I um," He cleared his throat, shoving more cotton into a trash bag, "Am getting more aggressive when I change, then we can figure s-"

"Don't. Don't say that," Jeonghan cut him off, spatula flying up, "You're not getting aggressive. You were bored and had too much energy. Jihoon, Mingyu, and I were able to get you out the other night and you were fine. It was my fault that I kept you in for so long." 

"It's never your fault. And I'm serious. It's not something totally out of this world, you know? Aggression and stuff." 

Jeonghan let out a sigh, abandoning the breakfast to join Joshua in the living room. The trash bag was taken from his hand and instead, replaced with Jeonghan's. It always amazed him that no matter how much time had passed, how long they had been in each other's lives, being close to Jeonghan still felt like standing too close to the sun. Dangerously warm, almost too bright to keep his eyes open. 

"I know what you're afraid of." 

A squeeze to his hand, Jeonghan's free one brushing his hair out of his eyes before laying gently on his cheek. 

"What's that?" 

"Hurting me." 

He wasn't sure why but Joshua felt like he could cry. Maybe because it was his unspoken truth. And it had been from the start. He was able to hide it for so long, to keep Jeonghan in the dark until he realized that his forever rested in Jeonghan's hands. He remembered preparing for that moment, he rehearsed it a thousand times in his head. He prepared himself for anger, for sadness, for Jeonghan walking away. But it didn't happen. He stayed. 

He kept Joshua above water, sane, grounded. He kept him safe and happy, warm and comfortable. The nights he could remember, sleeping on the floor with Jeonghan's hand on his back, were some of his favorite memories. Jeonghan wouldn't leave him. But the fear always lingered. 

"I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything ever happened to you." 

Oddly enough, Jeonghan smiled at this. 

He released their hands and laced his arms around Joshua's neck, their foreheads touching. 

"No matter what happens, we will figure it out. People have a lot to say about you. But that's only because they don't know you. I do. I know you sometimes better than I know myself. And above all of that," A quick kiss was shared, "I trust you. You would never, no matter what you look like, who you are, hurt me." 

Jeonghan always said things like it was the simplest thing in the world. He spoke words that made Joshua's world shake as if he was reading off of a grocery list. And maybe it was that easy. Everything else with Jeonghan always had been. Why would this be any different? 

Joshua was never good with his words. 

He wasn't as sure as Jeonghan, wasn't as confident. 

But there was always one thing he knew. 

"I love you." 

**Author's Note:**

> its like 4:30 in the morning what am i doing 
> 
> i dont know i just needed soft wereshua content OKAY 
> 
> anyway thanks for reading! comments kudos all the good stuff always appreciated 
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/hongshus)


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